Oil Train Risks Impact U.S. School Kids
Thousands of U.S. schools sit along rail corridors used to carry toxic substances such as crude oil and would be at risk in the event of a derailment, an environmental group said on Tuesday as it called for a temporary halt on oil trains. ForestEthics said its analysis of U.S. Department of Education data show nearly 15…
Train Lobby Pushes to Weaken Safety Rule
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is set to be a chief beneficiary of a bid by Senate Republicans to weaken new regulations to improve train safety in the $2.8 billion crude-by-rail industry, a key cog in the development of the vast North American shale oil fields. A series of oil train accidents, including the July 2013 explosion of a train carrying crude in Lac-Megantic…
Canada Eyes Impact of Long Oil Trains on Railway Track Integrity
The Canadian transportation department is studying the impact of long oil trains on the integrity of railway tracks, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said on Friday. Canadian National Railway Co suffered a string of derailments in February and March, including three along one section of its main route through northern Ontario, and Raitt told reporters research is one response.
Environmentalists: California Oil Train Risks Worse in Minority Areas
Californians most exposed to the risks of oil train derailments or fires overwhelmingly live in poorer, minority neighborhoods, two environmental groups in the state said on Tuesday. The report, the first of its kind to explicitly link issues of class and race to the ongoing oil train safety debate, urged state…
Canadian Oil Trains Shift to Less-Volatile Cargoes
A growing share of Canadian oil-by-rail traffic is made up of tough-to-ignite undiluted heavy crude and raw bitumen, say industry executives, as companies scramble to cut expenditures with the price of crude down more than 40 percent since June. By eliminating the cost of diluting with ultra-light condensate, heavy…
Oil Train Speed Limits Panned by Critics
New U.S. and Canadian speed limits for oil trains will do little to temper the likelihood and severity of explosive accidents that have grown in frequency over the past two years, critics of new regulations said on Friday. Walking a line between increasing safety and keeping oil shipments moving at a clip on North American rails…
New Oil Train Speed Limits Still Unsafe
New U.S. and Canadian speed limits for oil trains will do little to temper the likelihood and severity of explosive accidents that have grown in frequency over the past two years, critics of new regulations said on Friday. Walking a line between increasing safety and keeping oil shipments moving at a clip on North American rails…
US Safety Watchdog's Oil Train Plan 'Infeasible' -Refiners
The leading voice for the refining sector on Thursday said it was not realistic for U.S. regulators to expect existing oil train tankers to be retired within five years, and sought a meeting with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). "The emphasis on tank car modifications through an overly aggressive…
North Dakota's Train Safety Rules Inadequate
New regulations to cap vapor pressure of North Dakota crude fail to account for how it behaves in transit, according to industry experts, raising doubts about whether the state's much-anticipated rules will make oil train shipments safer. High vapor pressure has been identified as a possible factor in the fireball…
U.S. Oil Train Traffic mostly from Midwest to East Coast
U.S. oil trains delivered more than 13.5 million barrels of crude oil from the Midwest to the East Coast in January, according to government data that gives a first of its kind snapshot of such shipments. The data from the Energy Information Administration is the first if its kind from the independent statistics arm of the U.S. Energy Department.
California Apposition to Oil-by-rail Mounts
A chorus of local governments across California opposed to crude oil trains grew louder this week in light of recent derailments, with a total of 14 cities and towns now trying to block the trains from running through their communities. Five northern California cities - Berkeley, Richmond, Oakland, Martinez and Davis - have voiced their opposition to crude by rail in general.
US Railroads Must Answer for Oil Train Mishaps
The rail industry is chiefly responsible for preventing oil train accidents and U.S. regulators must do more to keep trains on the tracks, a leading voice for the energy industry said on Monday. "Any effort to enhance rail safety must begin with addressing track integrity and human factors," Charles Drevna, president…
Rail Industry Pushes to Ease Oil Train Safety Rules
The U.S. rail industry is pushing the White House to drop a requirement that oil trains adopt an advanced braking system, a cornerstone of a national safety plan that will soon govern shipments of crude across the country. Representatives of large rail operators met with White House officials last week to argue against the need for electronically controlled pneumatic brakes…
Fire Crews Still Battling Illinois Oil Train Blaze
Firefighters today were still working to extinguish several blazes that erupted when a BNSF Railway train loaded with crude oil derailed two days ago in a rural area south of Galena, Illinois, a local official said. The incident marked the latest in a series of derailments in North America involving trains hauling crude oil, heightening focus on rail safety.
Plains 70 mbpd Saskatchewan Terminal Nearing Completion
Plains Midstream Canada, a subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline, has started looking for workers at its new crude-by-rail unit train terminal in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, due to start up mid-2015, according to the company website. Plains, which also operates an approximately one million-barrel storage facility in Kerrobert…
US Oil Train Safety Proposal Due in May
The U.S. Transportation Department will offer a new design for oil trains by mid-May as officials try to make sure crude oil is moving safely on the tracks, officials said this week. The next-generation tanker will have a thicker shell, more heat protection and other safety features meant to prevent future mishaps from becoming fiery derailments. Details have not been finalized.
Seattle Calls for Safeguards Amid Boom in Oil Train Shipments
Seattle officials called on Wednesday for more safeguards for crude oil trains traveling through the city in increasing numbers, warning some rail infrastructure was antiquated and could contribute to a catastrophic accident. An oil tanker accident in the city could be "a catastrophe for our community in terms of risk to life…
Oil Train Regulation Passes in California
California lawmakers on Friday passed legislation requiring railroad companies to tell emergency officials when crude oil trains will chug through the state. The bill would require railroads to notify the state's Office of Emergency Services when trains carrying crude oil from Canada and North Dakota are headed to refineries in the most populous U.S. state.
Oil Trains Face Test in New US Safety Rules
North Dakota's Bakken oil patch has thrived thanks in large part to the once-niche business of hauling fuel on U.S. rail tracks. New safety rules may now test the oil train model. Within weeks, the Obama Administration is due to unveil a suite of reforms that will rewrite standards conceived long before the rise of the shale oil renaissance…
Bakken Crude Quality is Typical
Bakken crude is no more dangerous than other light sweet crudes and poses no greater risk when transported by rail, according to a report prepared for the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC), which represents oil producers and shippers in the state. The NDPC report, written by engineering consultants Turner, Mason and Company…
